Isn’t it so hard to come up with a blog name? I know for other people it is, and sometimes you just want to rename your blog after you chose it. I understand you! For me it wasn’t hard to come up with my blog name, though. I knew right off the bat that I wanted my blog name to be Little Book Star. But I didn’t know my options would be so limited.
Yes. My blog name definitely affects my blog. Little Book Star. I feel like my blog has to have ‘stars’ as a layout because my blog name has that word. If I change my blog’s design into apples and rabbits, that wouldn’t really match my blog’s name. Although I like the name of my blog, sometimes I don’t like it because I’m limited on what I could do for my blog’s appearance, you know? I shouldn’t be limited on what I should do because it’s my own dang diggity blog. Why would I let a blog name rule over my ideas? But I feel like it is!
Have any of you felt this way? Have you ever thought of “OOOH! I WANT TO CHANGE MY LAYOUT INTO AN UNDER THE SEA THEME” but then your blog name is like “Bacon and Books” which rocks.
Little Book Star 
I don’t know how many times I thought of changing my blog name. Actually, Life of a book slut was my original blog name but I was afraid someone would find it offensive because of the word slut. So I’ve changed it into The Moody Reader, and now I can’t help but to think what if they thought I rarely post something because I’m moody. O.o worst case scenario. I really want to change it but I’m too lazy because I have to change everything, twitter name, email add, Facebook page. No. I’ll just stick to it. I guess. 😀
I totally get you. I feel like when people read my blog name Little Book Star, they might think I’m little ahaha or a 13 year old or something. Doesn’t bother me that much though and it makes me laugh thinking about someone thinking of me as a short 13 yr old. And yes! It’s too much work to change email, twitter name, blog name, etc. I think you should keep it. 🙂
As said above, once you’re set up with twitter and the like, you’re kinda stuck with what you’ve got. Mine came naturally out of the fact that I always felt like I was the last to jump on a trending book series, or there was that massively popular book that I still hadn’t read. So, ‘A Bit Behind on Books’ comes along.
And then naturally some smart alec messages me to say ‘How come you’re behind on books but you do ARC reviews?’
*sigh* there’s no winning this game.. Lols.
LOL story of my life. Most of the time, I end up reading my ARC books and then the books that I bought. It’s just hard to choose what to read next! So I just end up picking the arcs.
I’ve wondered about this a lot too. I love my blog name but I realised after I started blogging that it doesn’t even hint at what my blog is about, which probably hinders getting new followers, but I don’t think I’ll change it. More fool me!
I feel in a sense it does affect your blog but most people will understand a name is merely a name and what really matters is the content. But it is important to make sure your blog name is easy to remember and stands out. There are many common words used for book blogs and sometimes it gets hard to differentiate between them.
I totally agree with you. I love it when blog names are easy to remember and it stands out (like yours!!). I really don’t like long blog names, or blog names that has a different URL. Like “Leighreads.com” and then the blog name is “Leigh love books” instead of “Leigh reads”.
It wasn’t hard for me to come up with my blog name, either. 😀 Which is awesome, because I think if I hadn’t already had half of it completed via my Tumblr, I would have spent hours agonising over what on earth to call a blog about books that wasn’t already taken.
Hmm. I understand what you mean about the blog name being able to dictate the kind of theme you can have. But if it’s any comfort, I don’t expect your blog to have stars on it. I kind of think of your name as kind of rhetorical, I guess. I love it, and your design. They’re both gorgeous.
With my name, I am really not constricted by anything! I’ve had several different kinds of blog designs, and they have all been very different. I am kind of thankful for that. 😀
The only two things I have ever worried about are: whether or not the name is too long to remember. But people seem to not have a problem remembering it, and the URL of my blog (delicateeternity) not being indicative of what kind of blog mine really is. But I guess if you stumbled across it, it’s probably from another book blogger, in which case the name of the blog is on the comments.
Okay, I am kind of rambling now – sorry!
aww thanks ❤ and yeah once people sees your name on like other people's blogs, they are prob. going to get used to your blog name even if the URL is different. Plus, it has 'delicate eternity' on both of them!
That’s how I console myself, too, haha!
I had a hard time coming up with name, and sometimes I don’t even like it. 😛 But I’ve pretty much had a great time working with it. I think mine is just a little more vague so I have a lot to work with.
Sometimes I really wish I thought of a simple blog name and something short, because at times, I feel lazy typing out my blog name when I comment on other people’s blogs LOL. I wish mine was vague too like ‘leighreads’ so I can have an unlimited blog design ideas and not just be limited with stars and books.
Have you thought of changing it? 😛
I don’t think a design and name should match, actually 🙂 It would be the same like.. reviewing horror books. It doesn’t mean that you need to take a murderous looking design right? So just do whatever feels good to you and nobody will notice!
I wish I had the same opinion as you, but idk I think it’s a pet peeve of mine if the blog name and blog design doesn’t match? It’s so bad that this kind of thing bothers me. D:
I never really had that problem because I used my name. I always end informal emails and letters with xx Iris, and somewhere along the way I just knew I wanted to use IrisjeXx …
However, I do feel like people don’t know what my blog is about, because its not like my name speaks for what my blog stands for: Books. On the other hand, its just me…
I dont know how my readers think about it actually.
Love this post! Great point of discussion 🙂
Yeah sometimes I wished I named my blog “Leighreads” or something simple so it would be easier for me to think of a theme and color schemes. Ohh I totally get you. Your blog name does sound kind of something that is not book related, but hey, it’s your blog, and if that’s what you want, then go for it. 🙂 Thanks!
Aaaah I’ve thought of changing mine over and over again. Whenever I say My Crazy Bookish World out loud I just cringe. It sounded perfectly ok when I first did it. I think it does affect it because you sorta want to stick the theme of the title but I guess it’s up to you if you want to change it at all.
Ugh I hate it when we have second thoughts. That’s like me with my blog design. At first I like it, and then I want to change it which is a lot of work.
Have you seen my post on me agonizing over my blog name? I’m super excited for my name. For my blog, It’s called Out of Time, but I really didn’t want a time theme. it was totally not my style. For “bacon and books” it might be kind of weird to have something different, but you can always be creative! (Out of Time’s theme is for music because tempo)
I had a terrible time with my name, but I’m happy now! 😀
Yes ma’am and I really love your new blog name especially your blog design. Really gorgeous and I like how you’re so passionate about music. 🙂 (I am too). I think it fits you and your blog really well.
Mine is Chrissi Reads.. not very exciting, but it tells what sort of blog it is and I’m quite free to use any theme I like.
sometimes I wish I named my blog ‘leighreads’ or something like that because it’s so much easier to design a header and all that with a name that’s vague and not like “baconandbooks” because I’m going to feel obligated to have bacon with books as my header.
It was pretty difficult for me to come up with my blog name. Initially I wanted to call it “All Possible Worlds” because I loved what Leibniz said: that we live in the best of all possible worlds. Unfortunately, that name was already taken, and I had to come up with another one. I eventually settled for “All Fantasy Worlds”, even though I don’t really like it. Not even now, one year after I made my blog. Oh well… I’ll have to live with it. However, I had thought about the theme of my blog before I chose the name, so I knew I wanted my header to express the idea of traveling to different worlds by reading books. That’s why my rating system is made of compasses. 😀 I don’t think I’ll ever change that.
aw man I hate it when someone already has my blog name idea. That didn’t happen to me though surprisingly. Ooohh I love your theme! Really unique especially the compass as your rating pictures.
I guess with things that are easy to incorporate into designs- like stars and books and whatever, it would be easy to fall into the trap of feeling obligated to put those things into your designs. But with my blog name, it’s like, I don’t really want to put syringes and stethoscopes in my BOOK blog design just because the blog name (Looking for the Panacea) contains something vaguely medicine sounding haha.
haha totally agree with you. 🙂 I think shapes such as stars are hard for me to not put in my blog design. Idk I guess it’s a pet peeve of mine?
If I stop reading YA, I’m sunk!
I don’t feel like my blog name affects my blog design too much. I just would never probably use very dark colors. Although when I do blog designs for other people, I often base the design on the name if they don’t give specific instructions. I think it’s kinda cool to integrate your blog name with your design in some way =)
I don’t think my blog name affects my blog, and I love that! My blog’s name is Nose Graze, and I think that’s pretty vague. It’s not even related to books so I can do anything with it, and I really like having that freedom!
haha this post is kind of hilarious but I can definitely relate to it. We don’t have a good story behind choosing The Quiet Concert for our blog name and I do feel limited by it in some ways. It doesn’t even have an obvious connection to books but I would hate to change it now and I do still like it.
However, I do think we are always our own harshest critic. If you decorated your blog with apples and rabbits I wouldn’t have thought it a contradiction to your name. But if some people do, who cares! Do whatever makes you happy 🙂
I really love your blog name, though! I interpret The Quiet Concert as like the book is like a concert b/c books are super cool and awesome, but quiet b/c you need silence in order to read. Idk, it’s hard to explain, but I could see the connection between your blog name and books. 😛 Lol. That was a terrible explanation xD
Blog names definitely affect blog designs. A lot of people seem to give their blog a name something theme-y to tie a cool design with it. I’m not very into themes for myself (so don’t expect my blog to get treasure chests, Treasure Island, or even Disney incorporated into its design), but I think if I did have a theme, my options would be a little limited because of the name.
Haha, my blog name hasn’t affected my blog very much yet. The only thing that could really be considered as something that puts a limit to how I use my blog is the word “books”. It would be quite awkward if I ever decided to turn my blog into a blog about music or food. And now that I think about it, some people may feel repelled from my blog since the title has a grammar error in it… Which I put in a purpose since it was inspired from a song >_<
If you ever see a blog called Bacon and Books, please tell me.
I don’t think your blog name totally matters. My blog name is Angela’s Anxious Life. What does that have to do with books? Nothing. I started with that name because my blog was going to be a personal blog but then went in another direction. I didn’t really think it would take off but it did and now I don’t want to change the name because my followers know that name. It probably wouldn’t make book bloggers automatically look at it.. but maybe when other people spread the love they’ll discover it.
I would love to start over and rename my blog! Mine so boring and lame 😀
I don’t have the problem with a name that needs to come with a certain design but it’s just not creative and I wish I had put more thought into it when I started my blog.
Well there are other bloggers who renamed their blogs, and ended up being happier than they were. But honestly, your blog name is super adorable. It’s definitely all about books 😉 .
I love my blog name, but I do agree that it sometimes makes me feel pressured in my design. I always have this nagging thought at the back of my head that it should be water-themed, with a bit of paper thrown in. Maybe if I can save up enough to hire a professional designer I’ll ask for something more thematic, but my skills are too limited to do something that would be up the standards I’m looking for (I’m such a perfectionist!). With a more generic design, I can make it look professional and clean myself, which I have done.
My stance on it tends to be that if your name and design doesn’t match, that’s fine as long as it’s not the opposite, if you know what I mean? Like, if you have a simple, minimalist design, fine. But if you’re called Books and Bacon, and you have a design with pineapples all over it? I’d be really put off by that.
Similarly, if your blog is focused on horror fiction but then has a romantic design, I think that’s poor marketing and wouldn’t really be a fan of that.
I love your blog and your blog name, too! 😀 I totally see what you mean. Maybe have like those cool looking thorn paper, but instead, have it in the color blue or white with blue lines? Like those loose leaf paper haha. And yes, pineapples would look terrible honestly if the blog is called Books and Bacon.
Great discussion! To answer your question, I don’t think my blog name should limit my opportunities on what should I do with my blog. When I was just starting, I really have no idea about the importance of blog names so I just went with the first thought in my head, Thoughts and Pens. I want to change it but I think it was too late so I just went with it.
As my blog carried the name, I never felt the need to design it with pens or thought graphics. For me, those are really boring so I went with another design. So far, I am cool with my current one and I think my readers didn’t mind that I have leaf looking symbols as a design for my blog.
At the moment, I am planning to change my blog design into a mermaid. Hahaha. But let’s see.
I love how your blog looks like, and I can’t wait to see that mermaid theme on your blog! Haha if I’ve never went to your blog before, I would probably think your rating scale would have pens, and your banner or designs would have those air bubbles and a pen. Lol. (:
My blog is called Doing Dewey and I’ve always kind of wanted an owl mascot. However, I’m pretty sure if there were an owl, people would assume it was named Dewey and then the blog name gets all kind of creepy and so, no owl mascot. So I definitely understand! I agree though, that it’s your blog and you should be able to do what you want with it. Personally, I might consider a new name, but I’m kind of fond of mine, so I’m not sure what I’ll do about my little dilemma. Great discussion!
Haha that is so cute though! I can totally see an owl mascot on your blog named Dewey, although I wouldn’t think the owl’s name is Dewey. I would think that it’s your name. I haven’t thought of changing my blog’s name, and I don’t plan to just because it’s a lot of work. You should keep yours; it’s very catchy!
Aw, thanks! Maybe I’ll consider the owl after all 🙂
Ahh, posts like this always want to make me change my blog name! Names really are constricting, sometimes! I feel you, there is definite pressure to match the two. I feel like I have to have some sort of rabbit/alice/fairy in my theme because it’s in “Wonderland” but I don’t always want to do that. I almost want to change my name but that’s another story 😉
Haha see!? Doesn’t it feel like we are obligated to have some characters or objects in our banner and/or background because of our blog name? Sometimes I wish I chose more of a vague blog name.
I like my blog’s name now, but I can imagine that in a few years reading will just be fun and not reading is fun again. 🙂
My biggest struggle was that I knew what name I wanted (well, once I decided on it) but it wasn’t available as a URL. So my URL (cheapthrillsbookblog.wordpress.com) is long and annoying to type out, when the actual name of my blog is just Cheap Thrills. But I figured it was better to have the URL be descriptive as opposed to just throwing a number on the end, or my initials, or anything random just to find a URL that was available.
On the plus side, I don’t think my name actually lends itself to any particular theme, so if I get the itch to change it, I can do whatever I want with it.
Aw man, I hate it when you really want your blog name to be that, but someone else already took it.
Actually, I have the opposite problem that you have. I wish my blog name (Effortlessly Reading) dictates what kind of theme I have because I’m pretty much a indecisive person and having a blog name dictating my theme will make it hard for me to change things. As of now, I’m constantly changing my theme because I can and there are no limits. 😛